Every now and then, a business is going to need quick staff replacements in order to continue their productivity and work. This is because staff do have their own lives and commitments, meaning they might occasionally have something going on which takes precedence over their work.
Maybe they’re due for an important doctor’s appointment, maybe they’re physically unable to get into work, or perhaps they’ve recently quit due to personal reasons or because they’re moving up the career ladder.
There are a number of good reasons why you might need to replace staff and it’s not always a bad situation. Sometimes it’s just unavoidable and there’s nobody to blame, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to replace your staff even just temporarily. So if you’re facing a temporary staff shortage, here are a few tips to help you solve the problem.
Tips for hiring into a long-term position
If you’re trying to hire for a long-term position then it’s important that you place your job advert in the right place. You want to make sure that it’s seen by a lot of people, but you also want to ensure that there are plenty of qualified people applying so that you don’t have to waste time filtering out unqualified candidates.
You’ll also want to make sure that the position you’re hiring for is actually something long-term and will last a long time. If not, then you might find yourself struggling to find something useful for that new staff member to do. If you’re only looking to hire someone to fill a temporary position, then you may want to consider outsourcing instead.
Lastly, make sure you’re upfront about who they’re replacing, the role they’re expected to do, and also answer why that person left should they ask. If the new hire knows that they’ve got big shoes to fill in, then it can help them solidify their sense of purpose and role in your business.
Tips for hiring into a short-term position
If you’re only planning to hire for a short-term position then you may want to consider using recruitment agencies instead of posting a job advertisement. This is a much better way to secure a temporary staff member for a short amount of time because they know exactly how much work they’re doing and they might have the opportunity to work a little more if given the option to and they enjoy your workplace.
You may also want to consider freelancers instead of a formal recruiting agency. Freelancers are usually much better for creative roles, such as helping to finish a piece of design work that an in-house employee started but couldn’t finish due to an injury.
Things like this can often be taken care of by a freelancer, but it’s important to let them know all of the details beforehand so they know exactly what they’re getting into and can adjust their prices as they see fit. You can rely on these freelancers again in the future if they do a good job, so it’s best to maintain a healthy working relationship.
